Time of my life
by Plural Force
Summary: They're spending an afternoon out, and Rath takes the chance to reflect on things a bit. One-shot ficlet, slight RC. Because I'm sick of all the angst.


Hey all. Welcome to my fourth DK fanfic! Hm, a one-shot like this isn't what you'd usually expect from me. I'm more of an epic kind of person. But oh well. This was written June 1st, somewhere around one o' clock a.m., after an entire evening of reading nothing but FMA Roy/Riza fics. XD

Written because I'm sick of all the angst. Can we _please_ have something _new_ in this pairing?

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Knights. And, try as I might, I can never come up with such entertaining disclaimers as my friend Pyro Blossom's.

Time of my life

He sat at the round wooden table set for two, enjoying himself despite the crowd around him and his companion. The table was crammed full with drunk men and ocassionally women, laughing loudly and waving their drinking glasses around in the air. The entire pub was crowded around their one little table; everyone was joining in, because it was the one place where everybody else was. Who wanted to be alone in such a friendly place as this?

Rath smiled and quietly brought his own glass to his lips. It was just water. The knight had no tolerance for alcohol, as he had found out the hard way on several ocassions. Sipping his drink, Rath glanced over at his companion, the only one who was actually sitting with him at the table. Long black hair cascaded down her back and over the seat of her chair; a purple forelock partially obscured her bright golden eyes.

_Cesia_, he thought contentedly. They had rarely ever ventured out of the castle simply for pleasure; and only for the first time in their lives had they gone to a local pub that afternoon. Of course, Rath had been to various other pubs in the city with Thatz (and Rune, being dragged along behind), but going to one with Cesia was different. Rarely had the Fire Knight ever seen a _woman_ enjoy such a place so.

_Then again_, Rath thought, a smile crossing his lips, _I suppose Cesia _did_ say she drank a lot when she lived with the witch._

"So," greeted one of the less-drunk men as he pulled up an extra chair, "what brings you two strangers here, eh? We don't get too many new people around this area; just the same old ones."

"Eh," replied Rath evenly. "We're just having a bit of fun on our day off."

"A bit of fun, eh?" echoed the brown-haired man. "I know..." His face brightened. "Why don't we play a little game?" Saying this, the man reached into his pocket and pulled out an old, worn looking deck of cards.

"Sure!" Cesia smiled excitedly. "I'm up for it. How about you, Rath?" She gave her companion a sideways glance.

"Eh, I'll pass," the boy replied, leaning back in his chair, eyes closed. "I'm no good at games."

"Oh, c'mon, Rath, it'll be fun!" she exclaimed. The fortuneteller put a firm hand on his shoulder and pushed the Fire Knight forward in his chair to the proper position, startling him enough to snap his eyes open again and lean on the table for support.

He gave in. "I suppose I'll join you in your 'game'," he relented.

"All right!" Several other men agreed to join the game of cards, while the rest of the crowd just watched fervently and betted on who would win each round.

Despite himself, Rath found himself to be having fun after a while. Before they knew it, several hours had passed.

Glancing briefly at the hand of cards in front of him, Rath stole another sideways glance at Cesia. She looked to be having the time of her life, with her voice and her eyes laughing merrily.

Rath smiled quietly, then turned away from her, smile fading. He gazed emptily at the hand of cards in front of him. Slowly he reached up and ran a hand through his blazing red hair, fingers stopping briefly on the one spot of white.

_Why can't I be like that all the time...?_

Rath wanted to die, and both he and Cesia knew it. At least, that's what he told himself, and most of the time he believed it.

_I want to die._

But now, sitting here in the pub with her, he was so grateful for his life at this moment. For one time in his life, Rath was not wishing he would die.

"Sir? Mr. Rath, sir...?"

"Ah? Yes?" Looking up, Rath was suddenly snapped out of his reverie, instead looking up into the confused eyes of the brown-haired man.

"It's your turn, sir."

"Ah, okay." Slowly, Rath drew two cards from his hand and placed them on the wooden table in front of him. Glancing over at Cesia, Rath simultaneously picked up two new cards from the stack and placied them in his hand.

Rath had to resist laughing at the fortuneteller' face; she was glancing down at her cards deviously, an evil smile playing upon her lips.

Looking away, Rath turned his head upwards and stared into space at the ceiling. He was having the time of his life now, and he knew it. True, he still had his past to deal with. It plagued him and never let him truly forget. Even now, he still had nightmares.

His past would never let go of him. He knew that.

But right now, he didn't care.

OWARI-


End file.
